Bingo Completion and 2k Views Community Raffle!

Hey there everyone! With last week's reveal of Pieuje, I'm happy to announce that we've finally completed a row in Opus VI Bingo! 

When I came up with the idea for the Bingo, it was really more meant for humorous purposes, and with categories like "Your Waifu" and "Fire Gets Screwed" I figured most people would take it as such. That being said, I also wanted to try and make it so a row could actually be completed, and combining my research into the Chapters cards, as well as observing general trends between set releases is how we ended up with the finished Bingo card. I figured most people would get a chuckle out of it, and forget about it. 

Boy, was I wrong. 

Every time I updated the Bingo sheet with a new stamp and posted it on community groups, people responded so well that it was almost like they were in a bigger hurry to complete a row than I was. I had to make it a rule that I only marked off one space at a time because people would suggest that certain cards triggered two or three spaces. It was really fun seeing how people would react with each new card revealed. 

Once we get closer to Opus VII's release in the Fall, I'd like to do this again, though it might be harder going forward since it looks like they're relying a lot less on the Chapters cards than in previous sets. Hell, maybe I can get some suggestions from you guys on what goes on it! Not that it'll stop me entirely from putting ridiculous categories on it, but hey, my Bingo, my rules. 

If I ever put this on a Bingo and we get it, I'm not sure if I would be oddly satisfied or horrified.

Also, my spoiler post for the Cactuar card got over 2,000 views! The amount of support I've gotten from the FFTCG community as a whole has been pretty mind-blowing, and I really look forward to providing you guys with more of my weird, pseudo-casual style content in the future. 

So with that, I wanted to do something fun for you guys, both to say thanks for reading my blog and to celebrate the release of Opus VI. So I've teamed up with some members of the community to bring you two different raffles!

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Raffle #1: Opus VI Bingo 

So as you can see, the center row was the first one to get a Bingo. Once the full set releases, I'll make a final version showing all of the categories that I managed to predict correctly. But for now, what will the raffle be for? 

Well Nicola Militello, winner of the first official FFTCG NA Community Contest and owner of Envy Games offered to provide a Foil set of the cards from Opus VI that we got the Bingo with - so what are those cards? 

Obviously, all 5 cards will be the English Foil versions - Including the Legendary Firion! Hell, I'll even sign them Kageyama-style to commemorate the occasion! 

A big thanks to Nicola and Envy Games to agreeing to provide this prize! If you haven't checked out the store yet, give him some love! He genuinely tries to make each order a custom experience, complete with hand-written notes!

Raffle #2: 2k Views 

One of the things I wanted to do with this raffle was to provide some sort of custom FFTCG accessory, while also putting the spotlight on the work of people in the community. Enter RenaPi, a local NY artist and FFTCG player. 

RenaPi is a member of my local casuals group who, like myself, is a newer player who usually gets their ass handed to them by the more experienced members of the NY scene. What gave me the idea to ask for her contribution for the raffle was her hand drawn custom TCG playmat, featuring one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters, Kuja. 

I took a ton of pictures to try and show how beautiful this piece is. I failed spectacularly to do it justice.

So for the 2k views raffle, RenaPi has agreed to create a custom full color digital piece of artwork for the winner. I will then order a 24 x 15 playmat from Inked Gaming with the artwork on it, and send it to the winner! What character will be on the playmat? Well, in order to enter the raffle, you have to list who your favorite Final Fantasy character is. Make sure you choose wisely - that will be the character she does the artwork of! 

Once again, a huge thanks to RenaPi for lending her talents to this raffle. I really wanted to take the opportunity to show off people in the FFTCG Community for something other than winning tournaments or being great at the game. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just wanted to explore other aspects of players and fans of the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game.    

Now before we get started, here are the rules for the Raffles: 

- The Raffle submission period will begin as soon as this blog is posted (June 25th) up until 12:00PM EST on July 13th. In short, on the official release of Opus VI is when I will announce the winners. The method of announcement is TBD.

- Your entry makes you eligible for both the card set and the playmat. A winner will be selected at random for each. If you were hoping for one prize and happen to win the other... well don't be that guy/gal who complains about it!

- In order to enter, you must complete the survey that will be linked right under this list. It's really quick - only 3 questions!

- The contest is open to both local and international fans of the TCG, so if you don't happen to be from the US, don't sweat it! I will be in contact with the winners to discuss shipping arrangements.

- If for some reason a prize is not claimed within one week of the winner announcement, I reserve the right to pick a new winner!

Alright, I think that takes care of everything - If you want to enter the Community Raffle then click the link below!!

Click Here to Enter Both Raffles!  

Welp, that just about covers it! I hope everyone enjoyed the Bingo, and look forward to announcing the winners!

Until next time - Keep on Grinding,   

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Spoiled Onions: An Exclusive Opus VI Card Reveal!

Hey there Final Fantasy Fans, and welcome back to Lv.1 Onion Knight - The FFTCG blog that's just one needle short of 1000! 

Today I'm super excited to reveal a new card that will be released in Opus VI! This is my first time doing a Spoiler post, so I'm going to do my best to channel my inner Richard Brady and give you guys a rundown of some of the ways I think this card can be used and other cards it combos well with. Wow, who would have thunk that this silly little blog would be my gateway to becoming a real live content creator? 

This is what all nerdy content creators dream of...

In all seriousness though, I want to give a big thanks to the North American Final Fantasy TCG team for selecting me for a Spoiler reveal - I never thought I would be chosen for something like this, so it really means a lot to this low-level Onion Knight! I also want to thank everyone for reading this blog too! When I started doing this, I figured that people wouldn't be all that interested in a silly casual's blog, with maybe a handful of reads here and there. But my last post had over 800 views! That's 790 more than I thought it would get! I really appreciate all the support from the community, and I've really enjoyed interacting with everyone both locally and on Reddit and Facebook. 

In any case, that's enough of this mushy vulnerability stuff - lets take a look at a new Summon from Opus VI - Cactuar! 

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Debuting in Final Fantasy VI, these prickly little buggers have become the bane of parties everywhere with their signature 1000 needles attack, and have long since become one of the most recognizable mascots for the Final Fantasy games. This little guy has even played basketball with Mario and Luigi, appearing as a playable character in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. This particular Cactuar is from Final Fantasy VIII being summonable as a Guardian Force after defeating the optional Jumbo Cactuar boss. 

Even though there is already a Cactuar card in the game, this one has a fairly unique effect, while keeping a similar theme of dealing varying amounts of damage. Not only is this version a Summon instead of a Monster, but it does more damage depending on the number of different elements you use to pay for it. Whereas the original Opus IV Cactuar card can be splashed into a variety of different decks, this one requires a bit more specialization to get the most out of it.

Unlike cards like Atomos (3-074R), Hecatoncheir (4-093R), and Raubahn (2-093H), it allows decks that run Earth to have a form of flexible removal without needing you to have a beefy Forward out on the field already. This Summon also has the potential to wipe out just about any forward in the game, with a maximum output of 16,000 damage - that's a lot of needles! Even with only 2 different elements, it hits the "sweet spot" of 8,000 damage, which is on curve for a 4 drop. 

What's great about Cactuar is that it doesn't cost more to do increased damage, you just need to have different elements to pay for it. It should go without saying that you don't want to be playing this card in Mono Earth. That being said, there are plenty of ways to get the most out of this little guy. 

Oh hey, its Leo! Not the Leo I was hoping for from Chapters, but it's still pretty cool to finally see this guy in the TCG! It should go without saying that with Leo on the field, it is really easy for Cactuar to pump out its bigger numbers regardless of the backups you run. Plus, depending on the number of Characters you have on the field, you can potentially get a really strong forward out for only one CP! The only real downside is that as a Forward, he's a bit more difficult to maintain on the field unlike the other backups that combo well with this new summon. Here I was trying to find more card combos for Cactuar, but it looks like multi-color decks are going to be getting a good amount of support in Opus VI! 

 

Now obviously, if you want to beef up Cactuar's damage, you'd want to be running either Chaos or Cosmos. That being said, the Star Sibyl/Kam'Lanaut Combo makes running Chaos a faster and more efficient way of getting additional elements onto the field. Even if you mainly run 2 elements in your deck, with Chaos out you'd be able to boost Cactuar to 12,000 damage, which is already huge for a 4 drop. 

  
Any other cards that can function as an additional element would also be great to play alongside Cactuar. Shantotto has been a staple removal card since her introduction in Opus I, and her ability to be any of the six main elements at once makes her even more valuable. Of course, you have to be okay with wiping out anything on your field as well, and considering this is more of a late-game card, you may not need to run Cactuar, but it could be useful for clearing out some pesky Forwards that are immune to targeting/summon damage like the Legendary versions of Y'shtola, Zidane, and Garnet, or bypassing Illua's bubble. Also now that Monster decks are becoming more prevalent, Cactuar can clean up any Monsters that can become Forwards after her big board wipe, should your opponent choose to activate them.

Kimahri on the other hand is much cheaper and easier to get out early game. I'm not usually a huge fan of cards that are dependent on what your opponent has out on the field, but unless you're up against a mirror match or Mono Earth, it's a quick way to get a wider variety of elements onto the field. I would love to see 3+ element decks get more meta support, but there's one deck archetype that Cactuar would really do well in... 

I'm sure a lot of you saw the spoiler and the first thing your minds went to was that it would be great in a Golbez deck, since both versions are dependent on utilizing multiple elements. Hell, so long as you're running Chaos/Cosmos, you don't even need to be running any other Earth cards to make use of Cactuar in a Golbez deck, or really any other deck that runs 3 or more elements. You can wipe out any problematic forwards that are too big for your 2 drop Forwards to run over and clear the way for that sweet Golbez win, or use it with the Heroic Golbez to destroy one Forward, Dull another, and get in a free point of damage.

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For a Common, Cactuar is actually a pretty versatile card that lets you cheat bigger damage for a relatively low cost. I've actually been getting more interested in running multi-element decks, so it looks like it could be a powerful card with the right setup. And hey, at the very least it'll be fun to use in drafts!

So what do you guys think of this card? Can you think of any combos or decks that would work well with Cactuar? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Until next time - Keep on Grinding,

  

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